


A Beskar Bulwark

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Series: Two Jedi Walk Into A Mandalorian [11]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apologies, F/M, Female Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt/Comfort, Mandalorian Culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22437853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: Now that he's with her, Boba's made infinitely more aware of the ramifications of his actions.
Relationships: 501st Legion & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Boba Fett & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Clone Troopers, Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex
Series: Two Jedi Walk Into A Mandalorian [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553227
Comments: 23
Kudos: 385





	A Beskar Bulwark

Sitting in Obi-Wan's bedroom, he can hear the conversation happening on the other side of the wall. 

"He blew up a cruiser, Obi." One of the men sounded exasperated. 

"He wanted Windu's head, which makes perfect sense to me." She sighed. "Look, you don't have to forgive him for that, but the executions on the planet weren't his doing. You all resemble his father - resemble _him._ That hurts, to be reminded of what he lost."

One of the clones sighed. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Another clone spoke up. "I'm not interested in hurting kids, Fives. I don't trust the kid, but her judgement's never led us astray before."

"I'll explain the whole mess with Jango to you later, but I need you on board with me." She implored them. "You're my family, and I want to respect your opinions and desire. But he deserves a second chance, not to be thrown to the wolves. He's just like you."

"Can I talk with him?"

"Yeah."

The door slid open and to his surprise, the one named Ponds walked in. It slid shut behind him and the clone sat himself down beside the young boy, helmet placed on the floor between his feet. He was leaning on his legs, hands loosely clasped together. 

"I'm sorry." Boba said when he couldn't take the thoughtful silence. "I didn't want to hurt anyone else. That's why I set up the bomb. I only wanted Mace dead. I didn't want to kill anyone else."

Ponds nodded slowly, watching him out of the corner of his eye. "I believe you."

"You- You do?"

"I do." Ponds reached over and took his hand. "Obi also said you've agreed to let that hate go."

"I'm not hunting Mace anymore, if that's what you mean."

"Good. The General means a lot to me."

"Oh." He swallowed thickly. "So, I guess I'm going to Concord Dawn after all."

"Well, you did fail." Ponds hummed. "And I would hope that I've got enough humanity inside me to forgive a cadet lost and alone in the galaxy."

"It's not humanity if I tried to kill you and people you care about." He winced. "I didn't forgive Mace, even though Obi-Wan is right."

"They were trying to capitalize on your grief." Ponds pulled him into his side, and the feeling was so remarkably similar to his father's own warmth. "But don't worry, we'll train you right."

"Train me?"

"You're a brother now, Obi said so."

"But she said-"

"Kano's got the right mindset." Ponds rubbed his arm, resting his cheek on the boy's head. "We all agreed to become her family. As much as she might refuse to recognize it, she's our Mand'alor. She's our clan leader. And she thinks you're worth another shot."

He didn't realize the tears were streaming down his cheeks until Ponds wiped them away. 

"All we need is your commitment to this clan. To follow our rules and adapt to our way of life. Can you do that?"

"I'll make it happen." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with the edge of his sleeve. "I will."

"Good." Ponds stood, helmet in hand. "That's all I needed to hear. Welcome to the clan, brother."

* * *

Boba may have been received into the clan, but he knew there were still the Jedi to face, and the seriousness of his crimes against the Republic. 

He was following Rex into the Temple, and the Captain seemed to know where he was going. A turn led them into a small, darkened room dominated by a holotable. Likely a briefing room. 

"So you weren't kidding." The other Jedi who had been aboard the destroyed cruiser, Skywalker, muttered in amazement. He was in a white robe, the visible skin still pink from time in a bacta tank recovering from burns. "Doesn't he bite?"

"Anakin." An older Jedi with long brown hair chastised. 

"Sorry Master." Skywalker didn't sound sorry, and Boba didn't really blame him. 

Windu was also there, dressed in a similar recovery robe. He rounded the table, staring massively down at the young boy. "Why should you not be taken into custody?"

"I should." He answered honestly. "I did what I did."

"So you admit it freely?" Windu raised an eyebrow.

"You killed my father, I wanted revenge. It's not complicated."

Windu nodded. "Arrest him, then."

Obi-Wan was between them in an instant, one hand on her blaster, the other reaching toward her right thigh. "Don't even think about it."

"He openly admitted his guilt." Windu replied, unphased at her aggression. 

"He's a child."

"A child who blew up a cruiser."

"And who was it who killed his father and left him alone?" She sneered. "Who abandoned him, alone, on Geonosis?"

"He was a Separatist ally."

"No, _Jango_ was. Don't pretend you had no clue about his history, that you don't remember sending members of your Order to hunt down his _vode_. But even then, knowing that Jango's son would have no other family to take care of him, you left him there, heedless of your crime against him. You were justified in your own mind."

"You're a bounty hunter." Windu snapped back. "All you know is crime."

"And yet, who's been winning your battles? Who's crest does your commander wear?" She stood her ground. "If you plan to hold him accountable for his lineage as well as his desperation, then perhaps I should begin tallying up the crimes the Jedi have done and exact punishment on you for them."

"He needs to be held accountable for his actions."

"He's _eleven._ "

"That doesn't absolve him."

She got up in his face. "I grew up during the Mandalorian Civil War. This? This is nothing. I was present when a brother murdered his sister and her family in cold blood simply because she stepped away from her life as a Mando'ade. I've been on planets were prisoners are made to fight warriors so the crowds can leer. I've been witness to the kind of slavery so insidious and benign that children born to slave parents can't even muster up the will to be fearful of the bomb implanted in the back of their head." She looked directly at Skywalker, who shrunk away from her like a beaten hunting cat. "But you Jedi are only concerned with the daywalkers, the ones with enough status to get personal escorts into warzones they created."

The room was thick in stunned silence, Boba entirely floored by her audacity. They were in the Jedi Temple and she was yelling directly at one in their midst, accusing them of war crimes!

"That's your only concern, shielding the ones in power. You could give a damn about the individuals you've left behind, that you could save but walked away from because you were _busy_."

"You wouldn't understand what it means to have that kind of responsibility."

"You rip children from their families, break their wills and indoctrinate them. And if they chose not to follow your way of life, you disown them. To the street with them. No Mandalorian would do that." Her grip on her blaster firmed when the Jedi guards took a step forward. "Do you know what happens when you exclusive associate with politicians, Master Windu?"

"Enlighten me."

"You become just like them, liars and manipulators. So caught up on not tripping through your own double-talk and trying to outpace the Senators that if you were being toyed with, manipulated from multiple angles, you wouldn't even know." She huffed, stepping back. "You're more interested in jailing a boy with hardened criminals than you are in finding out why so many of your Jedi have ludicrously high casualty counts on the battlefield. Individual lives, especially of those you don't have to care about justifying, mean nothing to you. This whole Order is rotting, decayed by filth at its very core. And that's right where you sit, Mace. In the middle, in control and able to change everything, yet entirely unwilling to do so. You're a fucking bureaucrat."

Windu stared at her evenly.

Surprisingly, it was Skywalker who spoke up. 

"Let her have the kid."

"On what grounds?"

"No grounds. Just let her have him. What good is it if he gets radicalized in prison?" Skywalker looked down, as though he was digging through an old memory. "I'm full of poor judgement, and I'm a Knight right now. If Qui-Gon hadn't taken a chance on me, I'd be repairing engines on Tattooine and getting sexually assaulted." He met her gaze. "Because of the bomb in my head."

"I'll have to discuss this with the Council." Windu said at length, turning and leaving. 

"I'll kill you myself if you hurt him." She said. 

"You're a wildcard we don't need."

"Then fire me. I'm on the Jedi's payroll, not the Republic's."

He left without another word. 

"Qui-Gon, get out. I need to speak with Anakin privately."

The older man nodded sagely and saw himself out the door. 

Skywalker looked pained, staring down at the holotable, but unseeing. 

She pulled off her helmet and handed it to Boba, a sure sign of trust, and rounded the table. He was surprised to see her pull the young Knight into a hug, even more so when the man just broke down into uncontrollable sobs, wracked and painful, coming from deep in his chest. 

"Shh, my dear. It's okay." She pet through his hair, holding him almost as tightly as he held her. "I'm here."

His fingers twisted in her cape, the muscles in his arms and shoulders bulging with the force he was exerting. 

"You do all you can, and you're enough for me. I don't want you any other way."

He hid his face in her neck, but his echoes were loud and hard to listen to. Boba hugged the helmet for comfort. 

"That's it, let it all out. All the fear, all the secrets." She soothed. "I have you, Anakin."

* * *

That night, Rex took him back to his room in the barracks, feeding him bland but filling soup. 

Obi-Wan returned to them after sunset, looking exhausted, but pleased. 

"The Council has elected not to move forward with formal charges, though you are on probation until adulthood."

"What does that mean?"

"If you act against the Jedi again, they can charge you with this incident compounded by any possible future violence. Otherwise, nothing."

"And Skywalker?" Rex asked. 

"I took care of him to." She replied, smiling. "He'll be joining us just like Ahsoka."

"Good." Rex bumped his forehead against hers. 

" _Oh._ " Boba glanced rapidly between the two of them. "I get it. You're lovers."

"In a manner of speaking." She replied, pulling away to strip herself of her armour. "He is my favourite."

Boba frowned. " _Buir_ said something once about marriage being the sharing of a home."

"Well, in that case I'm married to most of the 501st and a good portion of the 212th while we're at it."

He shook his head. "C'mon, you _know_ what I mean. You're worn his armour already, haven't you?"

She froze, her gaze snapping over to his. "How could you tell?"

Rex's head was rotating like he was watching a live tennis match. 

"It's _obvious_." Boba snorted. "You're really transparent, _ba'vodu_."

" _K'uur, adiik!_ " She hissed, but it sounded more embarrassed than anything. 

Boba quieted, but his mischievous little grin meant she was going to have to keep him away from Fives and locationally separate from Hardcase at all times.

Rex gently touched her hand, voice low as well. " _Is_ that what it means to you?"

She looked caught, abruptly nervous and flighty. "I-"

His fingers curled around hers. "Is it?"

"You didn't consent to it, so it's not _marriage_ . . ." She took a breath, but wouldn't meet his gaze. "But I- I'm at a loss for you. In a way I've never been, not even for Satine."

He chuckled lowly. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"I don't know." She breathed, letting him tilt her head back up by her chin. 

Boba coughed, regaining their attention. 

"We'll finish this conversation another time." He promised, that wickedly determined glint in his eye. 

"Right." She regained her composure, finishing stripping herself out of her gear, then pulling out her civilian wear and visor. "Come, Boba. We're going to get you come proper clothes."

He hopped off the bed, taking her offered hand and walked out the door. Rex watched them go, something unidentifiable in his eyes.

* * *

"So, he's just . . . _here_ now?" Skywalker asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Unless you have somewhere else to keep him?" She challenged. 

"He's eleven."

"Ahsoka is twelve."

"I just turned thirteen, thank you very much."

Obi-Wan rolled her eyes fondly. "Yes, well, he won't be seeing active combat at least until I get him armour and some more proper training, but I was thinking he could help the mechanics in the hangar, perhaps assist in the medical bay if Kix would be amenable to teaching him."

Skywalker still looked skeptical. "Is he in your room?"

"There's an attache bunker next to my room, so he can sleep there. Have some of his own space, but still be close to hand."

"Alright, I guess." Skywalker gave in, though it wasn't much of a fight. After his breakdown less than three days ago, it wasn't really a wonder that he wasn't up to arguing much. "But you're responsible for him, and it's on you to get the men to teach him. I'm not going to order them to."

"I understand. He wouldn't be here in the first place without their consent, I assure you."

Skywalker sighed again. "Alright. Get him set up. Let me know what winds up happening, just so I know where he's at."

"I will, Anakin."

"The trouble you people get me into."

She took him down into the living quarters of the ship, showing him the mess and introducing him to some of the painted brothers she kept company with the most. They seemed nice enough, all distinct personalities. He was grateful, to a degree, that they didn't share his father's attitudes as well as his looks, otherwise this would be really hard. She fed him, then took him and his new little wardrobe - along with a nicely weighted and size-appropriate blaster - back to the commanding officer bunk area, pointing out the slim door next to the thicker door that had a little blue Mando helmet quickly painted on it. 

"This will be your space." She keyed open the door, showing him into a small room with a single bunk over a desk that contained weapons maintenance gear, an armour rack and a small wardrobe. "Obviously I'm in the room next door. I don't have a number lock on it, so it only locks from the inside. Because this is in attache room, however, there are these small speakers we can use." She pointed to a discreet console in the wall. "They're only between the two rooms, so if you need me at any point, just use it and I'll come over, or to let me know that you want to come over to me after lights out."

"Okay." He nodded resolutely. "Thank you."

She ruffled his hair, then bent down and pressed their foreheads together. "Are you okay here tonight?"

He nodded. "I can be strong."

She bumped his nose with her visor and the both of them giggled. "I'll retire for the evening, then. Call me if you need me, darling."

"I will, Obi."

When she was gone, he looked around the room and took a deep breath, staring with putting his things away. "Today, I start over. I can be strong, _buir_ , just like you, and Obi-Wan is going to show me how."

* * *

When she stepped into her room, the door had only just closed and her helmet had just come off when she noticed Rex standing off to the side, watching her intensely, helmet on her dresser. 

"How rude of me. I didn't realize you were here." She cleared her throat, the dread from a few days ago shooting right back up into her throat to choke her. "Can I do something for you?"

Rex seemed to make up his mind, stepping right into her personal space and pushing her up against the wall. Her breath rushed out of her all at once, not because he was particularly aggressive, but the rising emotions she'd been trying not to think about. His hand wrapped around her throat, under her jaw, and he used the position to tilt her head back and make her look at him. 

"Are you serious?" He rumbled, dark amber eyes molten as they flickered between her eyes and her lips. "About wanting me?"

"So very serious." She breathed in return, her own hands skating over the flexcore around his waist. "By the Ka'ra, I've _never_ wanted anyone like I want you."

"Then why have you not acted on it? I told you in Cut's barn that I don't know anything about this."

"Are you certain?" She laughed breathlessly, but melted into the intensity again almost immediately. "I wanted to be sure that you felt the same, that you weren't going along with it for nothing more than an opportunity, or because you felt obliged to obey me."

"My steel-backed Obi-Wan," He chuckled, his other hand pressing against her lower back where the beskar didn't cover, where he could feel the posts through her wrap, "let me make it perfectly clear to you."

**Author's Note:**

> Ba'vodu - Aunt  
> K'uur, adiik! - Hush, child!


End file.
